The only sequel Martin Scorsese ever made
The greatest filmmakers of all time pride themselves on their original storytelling, with such directors as Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfred Hitchcock and Lynne Ramsay, having never delved into the world of sequels or prequels. Still, there’s certainly nothing wrong with a sequel. It’s just that they usually point towards commercial gain as opposed to creative innovation. Indeed, some of cinema’s very best minds have created sequels, from Steven Spielberg to Martin Scorsese.
Emerging to cinematic success in the early 1970s, Scorsese’s first true triumph came in 1973 with the release of Mean Streets, a crime movie that illustrated some of the director’s earliest hallmarks. Starring his regular collaborator Robert De Niro for the very first time, the movie was a humble gangster flick that told the story of a small-time crook who is trying to keep the peace between his volatile friends.
From then on, Scorsese thrived in the world of arthouse and popular cinema, creating such gems as Taxi Driver, the music documentary The Last Waltz, Raging Bull and the socio-political comedy The King of Comedy. However, one of the director’s earliest commercial ventures was in 1986 when he helmed The Color of Money, the first and only sequel of his 64-year career.
Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, the movie tells the story of Fast Eddie Felson, played by Paul Newman, a pool hustler who teaches the ropes to a cocky protégé, played by the perfectly cast Tom Cruise. Grossing $52.3million at the box office from a budget of just $14.5m, the movie scored big with critics, eventually winning Newman the Academy Award for ‘Best Leading Actor’.
It’s certainly not apparent that the film is a sequel, but looking closer, The Color of Money is a follow-up to the 1961 Robert Rossen movie The Hustler, where Newman starred as the same character as Scorsese’s flick. Set 25 years before the 1986 film, The Hustler features Fast Eddie Felson in his prime, travelling across the country to challenge the legendary player Minnesota Fats.
Regarded as superior to The Color of Money, The Hustler is a tighter movie, with a sharp screenplay from Sidney Carroll, Robert Rossen and Walter Tevis. The film also features a number of iconic performances, with Newman appearing alongside the likes of Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie and George C. Scott.
Despite winning the Academy Award for his performance, The Color of Money didn’t feature Newman at his very best, showing off more inspired roles in Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke, Martin Ritt’s Hud and Richard Brooks’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Still, Newman well fleshed out his character across both The Hustler and Scorsese’s sequel, producing perhaps the greatest character of his established career.
Scorsese also wasn’t opposed to a remake, helming Cape Fear in 1991, which was adapted from J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 original, as well as The Departed in 2006, a remake of the Hong Kong action thriller Infernal Affairs from 2002.
